THE GREEN PARENT OCT / NOV 2013 - Front page cover for UK magazine

Photographer: Martin Van Niekerk
Stylist: Elmarie Bredell, ElleFleur
Hair styling: Rene Erwee, Salon Elan
MUA: Candice Harker
Model: Laurette & Donne

IMAGES CAN MAKE OR BREAK A WEB PAGE: Using images to put the brake on a speedy click through

An image strategy can make
or break the usability of your web site 

Images can make or break a web page.    

Big companies know this and small businesses know this! You will seldom come across a web page without images or graphics.

But often it is very obvious that not much thought has gone into selecting the images that must communicate the company’s message. It lacks an overall strategy that integrates not only design elements (the relationship between text and images) but also the company’s brand strategy with the design approach.

Typically the small business owner will provide the text and the designer will put together the website.

Then at some point during the process, the topic of image comes up and one of a number of actions might follow:

• Best case scenario: A professional photographer is called in to document company products, people and installations

• Second-best case scenario: The business supplies its own images that might or might not be substandard quality or outdated or in appropriate and the handiwork of employees on site or whoever is in charge of marketing.

• Worst case scenario: The designer opts to purchase stock images to illustrate the website.

• Ultimate worst case scenario: The designer illegally downloads images of the Internet.

 I can already hear you say that this is all conjecture and that it shows my bias towards employing professional photographers like us. 

And you will be right.

But hear me out, I have support from good authority.

There are at least three aspects to take into account in developing an image strategy for a web site:

• the relationship between the text and the images
• where the images are placed and
• the type of images selected

Is your web site a yapper or a looker?

It seems we spend only about 10 to 20 seconds perusing a site before we click on the next one. Not much of a window of opportunity to capture a viewer’s attention.

Clearly large chunks of text will not improve retention rates. Ask yourself, how many words are we able to read and absorb in 10 to 20 seconds?  

And more importantly, how many words are we willing to read to find out what a web page is all about?

Well, simply not enough to convert the browser into a buyer as effectively as good images. A picture tells a thousand words, the saying goes.

Location, location, location

In fact, according to Jakob Nielsen, an expert on web page usability and partner in the Nielsen Norman Group of California, we don’t read web sites at all. We scan them and in ways very different from how we were taught to read at school. 

Studies by the Nielsen Norman Group on how our eyes move across the screen when viewing web pages, indicate that we generally do this in an F-shaped pattern - two horizontal stripes followed by a vertical stripe. 

Therefore:

• the most important information must be contained in the first and second paragraphs (the two horizontal stripes of the F) and
• the vertical stripe on the left has to be used for subheads and bullet points with information-carrying words.

 Keeping this in mind it is clear that the placement of images also cannot happen randomly but should contribute to the overall usability of a website.

An image of substance

Also not all images are equal says the Nielsen Norman Group. Users seem to pay close attention to images that ‘contain relevant information but ignore fluffy pictures used to "jazz up" Web pages.’ 

Their studies have shown that purely decorative images are by and large ignored while images of products and real people (rather than stock photos and models) are considered important and people spend time examining them.

And the photographer makes three ...

Relating these findings to the four scenarios I discussed earlier, want to add another option.

Rather than treating the images on your web site as an incidental element, a purely decorative feature or as a design afterthought, include a professional photographer in the conceptualising and planning from the start.

Give us a call and let us help you develop an image strategy that will make your web site and which will put the brakes on viewers hurriedly clicking through.

Ps: 1 November 2013

This what Internet tool company, VIGO has to say on the topic in an articel, The Death of the Homepage:

Up the visuals

It’s no secret that our attention spans have waned. We’ve grown to love colorful (sic) visuals and catchy excerpts of words, so long as they remain short. When branding a homepage, it’s important to avoid using long, drawn out descriptions and to make sure the homepage visually represents the brand we want our company, product or service to convey. The homepage and internal pages should combine professionalism with beauty, which means using little content to say a lot and creating a layout that’s intuitive and easy on the eyes.    

ARTFUL AIKIDO: Slow shutter speed sword sequences

When Hans Menck of Freedom School of Martial Arts in Cape Town, asked us to take photographs for his new website, we expected to shoot only straight forward sequences of the different attacks. 

But when designer and art director Ronel Van Heerden of NineNinetyNine and I suggested a more interesting approach using slow shutter speeds for some images, Hans very enthusiastically said yes! 

And this is the result.

MVNP STUDIO SHOOT, STRAND / SOMERSET WEST: Tanita

Photographer: Martin Van Niekerk

Model: Tanita

MUA: Charyke Steyl Coetzee

Photographer: Martin Van Niekerk
Model: Tanita
MUA: Charyke Steyl Coetzee

Photographer: Martin Van Niekerk
Model: Tanita
MUA: Charyke Steyl Coetzee

Photographer: Martin Van Niekerk

Model: Tanita

MUA: Charyke Steyl Coetzee

Photographer: Martin Van Niekerk

Model: Tanita

MUA: Charyke Steyl Coetzee

PRESENTING YOUR PRODUCT IN A GOOD LIGHT - Why a good grasp of lighting is vital for product images

In a previous post I remarked that employing a professional photographer to do product photography does not have to break the bank as it does not involve special lighting effects, intricate angles or extensive styling.

Still, a good grasp of lighting will always remain fundamental to all types of photography including product photography. Even static, straight forward lighting requires the right equipment, and a thorough understanding of how light works. 

As important is positioning of the objects and the choice of background. But more about that next time.

Photographers manipulate light to achieve the effects they and their clients require. By adjusting the angle of the lights and their intensity as well as altering the object’s position, the photographer can make your product look appealing and desirable.  

When do images NOT present your product in the best possible light?

• It is difficult to get a clear picture of a product in a dimly lit image. It may be blurred and important detail may be obscured. Dark and fuzzy pictures may even signal to a customer to beware, that you have something to hide. 

It is difficult to see finer detail and the actual colour of the watch face, important information for a potential customer who relies solely on the visual features of a product to make a decision.

• On the other hand, over-exposed images result in hot spots with features and details that look washed-out.  Lighting that is too bright also throws harsh, solid shadows that detract the viewers’ eyes from the product itself.

In this image, information is lost in the overexposed areas.

• Over-exposed images are often the result of using an on-camera flash. Moreover, as the light source is concentrated in one place, there will inevitably be aspects of the product that will not be highlighted and become ‘lost’ in the photograph. 

A large amount of information is lost in this image as an on-camera flash cannot
light an entire object evenly. Notice how the face is lit but the watch strap is dark
and fuzzy. The customer is not able to see the entire product clearly.

What is different about a photograph by a professional photographer?

Adding more than one light source e.g. from the side and / or the back, is what gives professional photographers’ images the edge. It prevents some areas from being dark and obscured but also gives depth and crispness to an image that an on-camera flash cannot. 

Using more than one light source in a controlled environment results in a clear,
bright and aesthetically pleasing image, providing all the information needed to
convert a viewer into a buyer.

Usually the controlled environment of a studio or a makeshift studio on location, makes it easier to achieve aesthetically pleasing images that give the viewer all the information needed to make a choice.

The studio also gives the photography better control over colour castings and unflattering reflections either from the backdrop and surroundings onto the object or the other way round. 

While at times natural warm light could be a good choice for products, the photographer still has to understand how to control it.

Next time more about backdrops, positioning of products and 

choosing the best angles.

KISS CURLS: Salon Elan, Somerset West

Photography & Retouching: Martin Van Niekerk

Model: Candice

Hair Styling: Rene Erwee, Salon Elan, Somerset West

MUA: Louna Esterhuizen Van Zyl of Make-up by Louna

Salon Elan, Somerset West

Before and after

One model, three looks

APRIL COLOUR SHIFT IN STRAND / SOMERSET WEST

Come April, come autumn and a colour shift from bright green to brown, even the Cape dwarf chameleon ( Bradypodian pumilum).